


Death Links: Wild Card--Playmaker

by ShadowOfASoul17



Series: Death Links: Darkness of the Underground [1]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's (references), Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V (references), Yu-Gi-Oh! GX (references), Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS, Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal (references)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Crime, Gen, Japanese Mafia AU, Not much of a plot, Similar to SAO in some sense, but not really, changed into a series, literally everyone's a killer, revolver is kusanagi's brother in this au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-09
Updated: 2017-09-09
Packaged: 2018-12-25 13:25:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12036810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowOfASoul17/pseuds/ShadowOfASoul17
Summary: Link VRAINS isn't just a place for top-notch duelists to gather. It's also an infamous place where the most powerful duelists and killers gather at night,  targeting various people and erasing them from both the virtual and real world. Playmaker is one such duelist-assassin, a wild card that holds no allegiance to any crime organizations. No one knows his true identity save for few. Fujiki Yusaku is Playmaker. High-school student by day, duelist-assassin at night. He doesn't appear to really have any motive to kill people. It's just what he knows how to do best.





	Death Links: Wild Card--Playmaker

**Author's Note:**

> Combine the Japanese yakuza (mafia) with VRAINS and a little bit of SAO and this happens. This is a multi-crossover as some later chapters will also focus on Yusei, Kaito, Ryou, etc. EDIT: I've changed this into a series of one-shots as to not confuse anyone who hasn't watched one of the animes featured. So this story is a one-shot focusing on Yusaku AKA Playmaker.

Heavy breathing was heard as a male ran into a dark alley, desperate for his life. Behind him, slow footsteps were heard, echoing and re-echoing off the walls. The male stumbled and tripped, landing on his face. He quickly scrambled backwards as the footsteps got louder, a terrified look on his face. "D-don't come any closer!" He cried out loud. His eyes were wide with fear, cold sweat running down his neck. He knew someone would have come for him soon. He knew he should have deleted his Link VRAINS account, changed his identity, and moved out of the country before _they_ got to him. But he didn't expect the most infamous one of them all to show up on his last trip into the virtual network and trap him.

 

_Why him, of all people?! I could have taken down any other of the assassins in the duel! Now that I've lost, I..._

 

The footsteps stopped just as a shadow fell over the man's body. Cold, emotionless green eyes met his terrified ones. "You lost the duel that would have determined your fate. Now, you will die."

 

"No...please...spare me!"

 

The shadowy figure raised a gun and pointed it straight at his forehead. "You are a fool for thinking that I spare anyone." 

 

He pulled the trigger. 

 

The male's screams were suddenly cut off, his body slumping to the ground and blood pooling out from the hole in his head.

 

The shadowy figure turned away and left the alley, his footsteps now silent on the ground. No one would discover the body until morning...when the death of a certain high-ranking government official would be reported on the news. 

 

* * *

"Mission accomplished," a flat voice announced. "Target has been confirmed dead."

 

"Good job," an authoritative voice replied. "It was good doing business with you, Playmaker-san. As promised, we will send the money directly to your account."

 

"..."

 

"Have you considered our offer to rejoin our ranks? You've worked with a number of us in the past; why not stay with the group?"

 

"No thanks; I prefer going solo."

 

"As you wish. You may leave."

 

The figure dissolved into blue particles, teleporting to a familiar place where many of his associates hung out at night. When he arrived, he noted the unusually low number of people in the nightclub-like space. He saw mostly familiar figures, though. There was the infamous Numbers Hunter brooding in a dark corner, identifiable only by the trademark white pants and black gloves. His black hood covered his head as was usual. Playmaker had never seen his face. Hell Kaiser had made one of his rare appearances, talking with one of his closest partners, Nightshroud. The Numbers Hunter's rival, Nasch, sat in another corner, shuffling through his deck. His red and blue eyes briefly met Playmaker's eyes and he nodded before turning away. Stardust's spiky black hair was seen as he spoke with a orange-haired man, who he identified as Blackbird.

 

Playmaker turned and saw a familiar spiky-haired figure and blank yellow eyes motion him over to the seat beside him, and he joined his friend at the table. "Revolver."

 

"Playmaker. How did the job go?"

 

"Easy. He was a terrible duelist."

 

"At least you had a job," Revolver retorted. "But then again, you just pick whatever interests you."

 

"That's why you go solo."

 

"No one to back you up unless one of us is in the area. Wasn't there one time when you got ambushed and I had to save your sorry self?"

 

"Yeah, and I returned the favour later when you ended up ditching Spectre and walked right into a trap."

 

"I didn't want to work with him," Revolver said petulantly.

 

"You were still assigned to work with him, though."

 

"I still don't get why I needed a partner on that job, though It wasn't that big of a deal. I wish you'd just rejoin us Knights of Hanoi, though. We'll always have a place for you since you take a lot of our jobs anyways."

 

"Trying to get him to rejoin you guys again, Revolver? I think Playmaker's more suited for Academia," a sickly sweet voice spoke. The voice belonged to a boy with purple and pink hair, dressed in a regal uniform and a smirk on his pale face. 

 

"Venom, I had no idea you were here," Revolver retorted, his voice heavy with sarcasm. He turned to glare at the boy with reptilian slits for pupils. "Where's Luna?" 

 

"Busy," Venom replied cheerfully. "I'm just here to keep an eye on Hell Kaiser and Nightshroud, as per the Professor's orders."

 

"Like hell you are, now go bother your brothers instead of us."

 

Venom's face turned sour when Revolver brought up his brothers and he huffed. "They're not affiliated with any of the organizations I like; why should I talk with them?"

 

"Isn't your second brother right over there?"

 

"Oh, you mean Fusion-kun? He doesn't do much work there anyways. Neo Domino people are terrible at their jobs. So, Playmaker, how about joining Academia?"

 

"No," Playmaker said coolly. "I'm not interested in tying myself down to any of your organizations, whether it be Hanoi, Academia, Neo Domino, Barian, or whatever other organization there is. If you'll excuse me, I should be logging off now." He disappeared into blue particles. 

 

"So sensitive," Venom commented. "Oh, I see Fusion-kun getting into some trouble. I'd better go take care of him since I'm a caring brother. Goodbye, Revolver." He gracefully melted into the shadows. 

 

Revolver shook his head and dissolved into blue particles, logging out.

 

* * *

The next day, the students were buzzing over the latest incident. A high-ranking government official had been found dead in his bedroom, shot in the head. No one knew who murdered him. Nearly everyone was talking about it, except for two boys. 

 

Fujiki Yusaku sat slumped at his desk, his eyes closed. He was fast asleep, chest rising and falling steadily. Beside him, a spiky-haired boy dropped his books with a groan and yawned. "I'm so tired."

 

Yusaku blearily looked up to glare at his best friend. "Your fault for staying up so late to argue with someone not worth arguing with, Shuichi."

 

"We actually didn't argue much after you logged off, _Playmaker_."

 

"Shut it, _Revolver._ "

 

Shuichi glared at Yusaku. "Venom's still trying to make you join Academia."

 

"I don't care."

 

"Stardust sent me a message saying his higher-ups want you to join them."

 

"Tempting, but no. I like working with him, but the rest of the duelists in Neo Domino are completely unmanageable."

 

"Just join some group before I get spammed by messages. They know we're friends, Yusaku. I'm getting the messages since no one even knows how to contact your account."

 

"Do the same thing like me, then."

 

"You know I can't."

 

"That's why you go solo."

 

"Whatever."

 

Link VRAINS was the virtual network created by SOL Technologies, where duelists of all ages and skills could duel in. There were different servers to meet the needs of different duelists. Link Beginnings was the server for children and beginner duelists. Duel Links was the main server, where 95% of users logged into and dueled each other. Duel Links was also the most publicized server, meant to broaden Link VRAINS' fame and to invite more duelists into the virtual world. Charisma Duelists also had their duels publicly streamed in the Duel Links server. However, there was one more server in Link VRAINS, and this server belonged not to SOL Technologies, but to the Japanese yakuza. Rumours said that a powerful member of the yakuza was in a high-ranking position in SOL Technologies had created the dangerous server along with some others, and it was known as Link Mortem: Death Links. It was named appropriately: if anyone 'died' in the Link Mortem server, whether it be by falling from a D-Board in a Speed Duel or being shot by a virtual gun, the person would be killed in real life.  No one knew how this worked, but the underground had tested enough to prove that it was true. 

 

Link Mortem was also the best-kept secret to the general public. The yakuza silenced anyone unauthorized who tried accessing Link Mortem, more less heard of it and tried alerting the police. The only way to get into Link Mortem without complications was if you worked for the yakuza. And in Fujiki Yusaku's and Kusanagi Shuichi's cases, this was true.  

 

Kusanagi Akihiro, Shuichi's father, was part of the creation of Link Mortem, being a talented programmer and head of a powerful yakuza group. He had died from a heart attack a few years ago, leaving his legacy to his older son, Shoichi. Shoichi was as talented as his father in hacking, and quickly re-established his high position in the same yakuza group, who called themselves the Knights of Hanoi in Link Mortem. He eventually recruited his younger brother to the Knights of Hanoi when Shuichi turned 15. Being around death constantly, the teenager was used to killing and made an infamous reputation for himself as Revolver. 

 

Yusaku was a special case. His parents were leaders of a yakuza group that were allied with Kusanagi's group, but they were killed in an attack when Yusaku was 6. Being allies, Akihiro had taken Yusaku in and raised him with his own sons, also teaching him programming. Yusaku surprisingly had an aptitude for hacking even at a young age, far surpassing Shoichi and Shuichi. When Yusaku had turned 15, he briefly stayed in the Knights of Hanoi before breaking off to go solo as Playmaker. While surprised, the Kusanagi siblings let him go, knowing Yusaku preferred being a wild card. 

 

But right now, Fujiki Yusaku and Kusanagi Shuichi were just regular 16-year-old high-school students that constantly slept in class. Despite that, they still managed to achieve top marks in the grade. 

 

Yusaku yawned again as their math teacher walked in the classroom. "Good morning, class! I hope you finished yesterday's homework, because I'm checking today!"

 

"Shit!" Shuichi swore, suddenly awake. "I forgot about the math homework!"

 

"I finished it on the way to school," Yusaku replied. "Yesterday's job took a while. I don't remember you accepting a job offer, though."

 

"Shoichi-nii wanted me to hack into SOL Technology's database and erase any remaining traces of the Knights of Hanoi," Shuichi replied as he began scribbling down answers. "I had enough time to meet you at the nightclub to talk for a bit before I went to sleep."

 

"You're hopeless," Yusaku sighed as the teacher began making rounds. Luckily, they were in the back row and still had some time. "Here, copy mine." He slid his notebook over to Shuichi.  

 

"You're a lifesaver, Yusaku." Shuichi snatched Yusaku's notebook and started copying.  

"In return, I get your next job so you can do your homework."

 

Shuichi groaned. "I knew there was a catch."

 

"That's why you never take anything free from me," Yusaku said with a faint smirk. Shuichi sighed but slid the notebook back to his best friend just as Mizuki-sensei got to their row. 

 

"Morning, boys! Looks like you two finished your homework. As expected of my top students!"

 

Yusaku and Shuichi exchanged uneasy smiles while their teacher checked their notebooks, returning them with a smile. When she returned to the front of the class, both boys let their heads fall onto their desks, falling asleep in a matter of seconds. 

 

* * *

"I hate school," Shuichi whined as he took a bite out of his hotdog. "I'm learning nothing and I sleep there anyways."

 

"Little brother, stop whining. You know school is only a cover for your true identity," Kusanagi Shoichi said in response to his brother's woes. He handed a freshly made hotdog to Yusaku, who was watching their little exchange with amusement flickering in his normally empty green eyes. 

 

"Like how being a hotdog vendor is cover for you actually being one of the heads of a yakuza group?" 

 

"Exactly."

 

"The only difference in your cases is that Shoichi appears to genuinely enjoy his work while your dislike of high school is clear," Yusaku said, biting into his hotdog. 

 

"Anyways, your next job is rather easy. Two reporters managed to gain access into Link Mortem. You're to eliminate them tonight."

 

Yusaku raised one eyebrow. "Managed to gain access? That sounds highly improbable."

 

"Actually, Ema lured them in. This pair of reporters have apparently been tracking us for a while, and Ema found out, giving them access and making it look like she was sabotaging us."

 

"Typical of her," Yusaku sighed. "Time? Profiles? Coordinates? Any more details I should worry about?"

 

"They're said to be in Link Mortem anytime from 11 PM to 3 AM. Sorry, but this is going to be another late-night job. I'll send you the coordinates." 

 

"It's alright; it's Saturday tomorrow."

 

Shoichi pulled out his phone and tapped the screen a few times, showing Yusaku two profiles: both men in their mid-thirties; with plain features. "Yamamoto Daisuke and Itosaka Kairi. Their Link VRAINS avatars are that of a frog and a pigeon respectively. Since your last job had a huge media blowup, I want you to kill them without spilling a lot of blood. A cleanup crew in the real world will handle the rest."

 

"I have three questions," Yusaku said flatly. "First: why was I ordered to kill such a high-ranking official? Second: why can't we dispose of those two reporters outside of Link VRAINS? Third: what is Ema plotting?"

 

"To answer your third question: I have no idea. Second, Ema requested that we kill them in Link Mortem. She probably wants some entertainment, but listening to her is better than having her backstab us yet again. And for your first question: that man had been planning on getting foreign governments to deal with us. Eliminating him as soon as possible was crucial."

 

Yusaku shrugged. "I don't really care about the reason, but the huge media blowup is going to make it harder to maintain our secrecy. That's what I'm concerned about."

 

"It's alright," Shoichi replied. "One of the yakuza heads in the Neo Domino group is a Tokyo senator. He said he'd cover things up as payment for you aiding Stardust that one time."

 

"One debt fulfilled."

 

"Just how many favours do the rest of the groups owe you?"

 

"That's for me to know and you to find out. Anyways, thanks for the food. I'm going to go sleep a bit before my job tonight."

 

"Sure, go ahead. Don't forget to report to one of us when you're done."

 

"Will do. What's the payment, by the way?"

 

Shoichi named a price, and Yusaku shrugged. "It's passable for a simple elimination. Bye."

 

The brothers watched Yusaku walk off, eventually disappearing into the crowd. "I'm going to watch him tonight," Shuichi said. 

 

"Do whatever you want," Shoichi replied. "Just don't interfere unless you want to end up having a serious case of being dead."

 

"Wow, you actually care."

 

"Ema's going to mercilessly tease me the moment she figures out I let you die. So be careful because I really don't want to deal with her."

 

Shuichi yawned. "Go keep your girlfriend in check."

 

"I've told you a dozen times that we aren't dating."

 

"Whatever."

 

* * *

"10:55...Preparations complete," Yusaku said to himself as he checked his Duel Disk one last time. He had woken up just 10 minutes ago from quite a refreshing nap, ensuring that he'd have plenty of energy by the time he had to do his job. He had always preferred the nighttime anyways. 

 

Yusaku pressed a hidden button on the wall and it slid open, leading into a small but comfortable (to him at least) closet. He tapped his Duel Disk, bringing up the blue list of servers. Scrolling to the very bottom, he tapped the only option in black. "Coordinates, set. Deck, set. Username, Playmaker. Enter! Link Mortem!"

 

A dark red sphere enveloped his body and a black bodysuit formed around him. Playmaker shot into the air, flying through a dark tunnel before landing in a darkened alley. 

 

The time in Link Mortem mirrored the time in real-day Japan. A crescent moon hung in the black sky. Dim streetlights illuminated the streets, creating even more of an eerie atmosphere. Playmaker smiled at the familiar view. This was the atmosphere he loved; full of shadows and death. 

 

Checking the time, he moved further into the alley, a program activating and letting him melt into the shadows. No one would be able to see him. 

 

And there, he waited for his targets. They would not live to see the next morning. 

 

* * *

"This place creeps me out, Yamamoto-senpai," a certain pigeon complained as it landed on a building, letting a frog wriggle free from its talons.

 

"Don't call me by my real name! Besides, if we film enough of this, we'll get a huge scoop and take down the Japanese underground! We'll get more than enough money back to regain what we spent on getting the access codes from Ghost Girl!"

 

"But this really is scary...if all the murderers in the yakuza really are here, then we probably already have targets on our head!"

 

"Relax! We're only going to stay here for a while. Let's fly around and see if we can film anything newsworthy!"

 

"Okay," the pigeon muttered, gripping the frog in its talons once again. He silently cursed his current predicament.

 

Simply put, Itosaka Kairi was afraid.

 

He wasn't a fool like he considered his superior Yamamoto was. He did chase after good scoops (like the magnificent duel between Blue Angel and Go Onizuka), but he was smart enough to know when he'd be risking his life for a scoop, and he refused to take them. Yamamoto, on the other hand, would probably sacrifice his soul if he could get a scoop no one else had ever gotten. 

 

And right now, in the terrifying server known as Link Mortem, Kairi was seriously regretting his decision in allowing his superior to contact Ghost Girl. 

 

He was 95% sure Ghost Girl was a professional killer in Link Mortem besides her identity as a cyber treasure hunter in the rest of Link VRAINS. She never did anything for others unless it was for her own benefit, money, or entertainment. And so when she readily agreed to give Yamamoto and Kairi access into the fabled Link Mortem (for a hefty price, of course), Kairi was suspicious.

 

Link Mortem was supposed to be just a rumour in the wind. SOL Technologies and the Japanese government swore up and down that it didn't exist. Hackers and reporters that tried finding information on it supposedly never showed up in ever again. However, Yamamoto had been convinced that it existed, and had begged Ghost Girl to let them in for proof. 

 

Kairi's pigeon avatar shivered involuntarily as he remembered Ghost Girl's eyes sparkling with mirth and pity as she spoke with Yamamoto. She had explained to them the dangers; professional killers lurking everywhere, a guaranteed death in the real world if they died in Link Mortem, and targets on their backs once they accessed the server. 

 

She had also informed them about the most menacing killer of them all: Playmaker. 

 

Playmaker had the highest kill count on his record, and excelled at dueling. He had no affiliation with any of the yakuza groups, and only took the jobs that offered the most money or the ones that no one wanted to do due to the dangers. He sometimes even sabotaged some jobs for his own benefit, and would even turn on allies to finish the job. 

 

Kairi prayed to whatever deity there was that they would not run into Playmaker tonight.

 

* * *

"Found you," Playmaker said calmly. He had no need to show his expressions on his face. But inside him, excitement was burning at the thought of another kill. Activating a program that would hide his avatar from other eyes, he slipped out of the alley and began trailing the flying pigeon, leisurely walking down the street. 

 

The pigeon was flying at a slow pace, turning its head from side to side to film anything noteworthy. As it was nighttime, there wasn't much to look at--just rows of dark buildings all around. He watched it land and start complaining to the frog. The frog answered back with some kind of retort, and Playmake could faintly hear the words.

 

_"..not logging out until we get this scoop!"_

 

Huh. One stubborn frog. The stubbornness would lead to his own death and that of his partner's.

 

Playmaker drew two cards (specialized programs) from his deck and aimed carefully before flinging them at the pair. This program would immobilize the two and lock down their accounts; preventing them from logging out. 

 

His cards hit their mark, and the two froze up, the frog's mic clattering to the ground. 

 

Playmaker allowed his program to deactivate, rendering him visible to anyone in the server. "Unauthorized users are not allowed in Link Mortem."

 

Terror was visible in the pigeon's eyes. "P-p-p-p-playmaker?!"

 

Playmaker tilted his head. "You have heard about me, Itosaka Kairi-san? Then you know what I'm here for."

 

"S-spare us! Please! I swear, I won't publish or tell anyone anything!"

 

"That's not how we work, Yamamoto Daisuke-san. Anyone unauthorized is to be eliminated."

 

"Ghost Girl! She gave us access!" The frog cried out desperately.

 

"And she's the one who told me to eliminate you. If I let you go free, you will undoubtedly tell the public about our existence. We cannot have that. I will kill you just as I killed Chief Ishikawa yesterday."

 

"You--you did that?"

 

"Yes. Goodbye. You should regret having ever trusted Ghost Girl." Two more cards were drawn and hit the frog and pigeon, who screamed as millions of volts of electricity coursed through their bodies. It took around 30 seconds before the electricity cut itself off, leaving two smoked, charred corpses fell to the ground.

 

Playmaker glanced at the corpses with disdain. He disliked electrocuting people to death, but he had orders to shed as little blood as possible. And he honestly didn't like giving painless deaths either, so he had some fun while creating his programs. He shrugged and turned away from the bodies. He had to go report to the Hanoi heads anyways. 

* * *

A pair of silver eyes had been watching Playmaker's every move. As Playmaker disappeared into blue motes of light, the figure also turned and walked away, long pink and grey hair lightly blowing in the wind.

 

"You never cease to amuse me, Playmaker-kun."

 

**Author's Note:**

> So I killed off our favourite comedy duo....sorry not sorry. I gave them full names to make them seem more real.


End file.
